This invention relates to protective barriers and, more particularly, to projectile energy absorbing protective barriers.
This invention was developed for, and finds particular use in, containing projectiles which could be emitted from bursting jet engines, and is illustrated and described in such an environment. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is also suitable for use in a variety of other environments. Broadly, the invention may be useful in any environment where it is desirable to set up a barrier between a potentially hazardous area and another area to prevent the passage of projectiles therebetween.
A variety of different types of protective barrier concepts have been proposed by the prior art. For various reasons these barrier concepts have not proven to be satisfactory either in terms of strength, strength-to-weight ratio, or operativeness in high temperature environments.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved protective barrier.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a projectile protective barrier having an improved strength-to-weight ratio when compared to prior art projectile protective barriers.
It is another object of this invention to provide a projectile protective barrier suitable for use in preventing parts escaping from a bursting machine from leaving the area immediately adjacent to the machine.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the aircraft art that one of the critical requirements of a jet engine projectile protective barrier is that it must be able to perform its function at temperatures well above the normal temperatures of ambient air.
Thus, it is a further object of this invention to provide a projectile protective barrier suitable for use in an environment wherein the temperature reaches levels well above the temperatures normally reached by ambient air.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a new and improved projectile protective barrier suitable for use in combination with a jet engine.